TMC says no pre-poll alliance with Cong, post-poll option open

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and minister Subrata Mukherjee Tuesday ruled out any possibility of pre-poll alliance with the Congress but kept all "post-poll" options open.

"Right now we will do whatever is needed to defeat the BJP. We will fight it alone. After the Lok Sabha results are announced we will decide our next course of action after discussing with everybody," Mukherjee told reporters.

Reacting to his statement, Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan of the Congress wondered who has asked the TMC to ally with the party.

"Did we ask them to ally with us. We want to fight alone in Bengal. Alligning with the TMC has always been a disaster. It is the TMC which has tried to wipe out the Congress from West Bengal," Mannan said.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had announced in July that that the party would contest the 42 Lok Sabha seats of the state alone.

The TMC, however, attended several opposition meetings that has taken place in New Delhi.

But the party has also opposed DMK president M K Stalin's proposal to the name of Congress chief Allying Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition by saying any such announcement would be premature as it would divide the opposition camp.

The state Congress leadership, too, has been vocal against the TMC for not giving credit to Gandhi for the massive victory in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls.

The Congress had last week asked if Trinamool leaders were having "sleepless nights" fearing that their dream of Banerjee becoming the prime minister might not realise.

The Congress and the TMC had fought in alliance in West Bengal in 2001 assembly polls, 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 2011 assembly polls.

After winning a landslide victory and ousting the Left Front from power in 2011, Banerjee snaps ties with the Congress in the state in 2012 but remained a constituent in the UPA at the Centre.